Japanese U-17 Representative Selection Camp

Note: Unless noted otherwise, information on this page is derived from the New Prince of Tennis Fanbook 10.5.

In the camp, players are divided into three groups:

• The 1st string, consisting of 20 members.
• The 2nd string, consisting of about 150 members.
• 2nd String candidates. This group consists of players newly invited to the camp. This November was the first time that middle schoolers got invited too.

When a group of 2nd string candidates arrives at the camp, they have to go through the following procedures:

1. The weakest players are sorted out through the ball game.
2. The remaining newcomers are forced to play against each other. They are then aplit into two groups according to the results.
3. The winning group is distributed across the courts and integrated into the regular camp.
4. The losing group is sent to the mountain camp. These players eventually rejoin the winning group and are distributed across the courts.
5. Anyone who fails the mountain camp must leave the camp.

Events and results of the camp are recorded in the daily reports.

Mountain Camp

In the mountain camp, players can awaken their sleeping abilities. The practice there focuses on the players' weak points. The black uniform is meant to invoke a rebellious spirit.

Mountain Camp Training Program

• Mountain Climbing - improves arm strength, leg strength, strategy, willpower, teamwork.
• Hole Digging - improves arm strength, leg strength, balance, mental fortitude, teamwork.
• Night Training - improves arm strength, swing speed, balance, willpower, resistance.
• Special Mission - improves speed, footwork, nimbleness, balance, insight, coordination, situational analysis, decision making, communication, resistance, handling extreme situations.
• Sportsman Hunt - improves nimbleness, jumping, strategy, concentration, humor (for relaxing others), guts.

Mountain Camp Results

• Ability to react to irregular terrain.
  • Example: Sakata running in zigzags by improving his side-to-side movement.
• Ability to hit in quick succession.
  • Example: Ryoma and Kintarou hitting multiple chestnuts at the eagles.
• Ability to jump sideways.
  • Example: Mukahi performing low Moonsaults.

Regular Training Camp

The regular training camp provides the players with optimized food, high-tech facilities and a professional coaching staff. According to Tsuuge, weak players who cannot keep up with his conditioning practice are recommended to drop out of the camp. The 2nd string uniform is meant to invoke pride.

Training Camp Design & Facilities

Futsal Court

One of the sports grounds in the training camp. The futsal court has a particularly high usage rate by players; there are many who train their minds and bodies with sports apart from tennis or use the court for a change of pace. It seems that even the coaches use it occasionally.

Monitor Room

The monitor room is a place for checking on the players' training and giving advice. With a number of cameras installed on each court, he can check the situation from every corner. Only a huge training camp would have such equipment in it.

Locker Room

Locker rooms are divided by court number; as expected, the ones for the higher courts seem to be more extravagant.

Practice Courts

Near the training room, there are 16 courts where the U-17 players practice. The Centre Court is a place a little distance away from the 16 courts. It seems the reason for this is out of concern for the top-level players who can gather to practice there. Of course, there are indoor courts for the top players' use as well.

Restaurant & Bar Counter

For the sake of the players who have gathered from around the country, the dining hall has been prepped with a menu with strong hometown flavors. However, when night falls, equipment designed to keep out hungry players activates, transforming the place into an impregnable fortress!

The bar counter was made for the coaches who live at the training camp and thus can't descend to this earth. Night after night, are those the figures of Kurobe and Saitou downing their wine glasses...

Training Room

It hold more space for equipment than leading sports gyms. When using the machines, players use contactless cards that can record their data. Using data accumulated individually, the machines regulate the optimal workload. However, this has a bad reputation amongst some of the players...

Vending Machines

One can't miss out on re-hydration during practice. Because of this, installed everywhere in the training camp are 100¥-a-can vending machines. There are lots of sports drinks, but recently, a health drink named 'Inui Juice' has been added and is causing quite a fuss.

2nd String Court System

The 2nd string has 16 courts available for practice. The lower the number of the court they are assigned to, the stronger the players. Courts 1, 3 and 5 in particular are noteworthy:

• 1st court: Showing a picture of Tokugawa, apparently there is a player here even stronger than the members of the 1st string.
• 3rd court: The core of the 2nd string. Players with refined individuality and talent are gathered here.
• 5th court: The so-called "Gate of Hell" where newcomers are shown their limits.

Players can improve their court ranking by winning in Shuffle Matches. Eventually, it is even possible to reach the 1st string this way. There are two types of shuffle matches: individual shuffles and team shuffles.

Shuffle Match Rules:

• In this type of shuffle, two players from different courts face each other.
• The coaches determine the match-ups and post a complete list every morning at 6 AM.
• If the player from the higher court wins, there are no changes. (Note: Players from higher courts only protect their positions. However, being forced to drop in rank in case of a loss puts pressure on them.)
• If the player from the lower court wins, both players change courts with each other. (Note: Having nothing to lose becomes a weapon in and of itself.)

Team Shuffle Match Rules:

• In this type of shuffle, all members of two different courts face each other in a team match.
• These matches are not set up by the coaches, they need to be requested by representatives of the courts involved. However, the coaches must still approve the matches.
• Each court chooses seven of their members as representatives. They play a total of three singles matches and two doubles matches. The order of play is agreed on by the players themselves. The team that wins three of the five matches wins the shuffle.
• If the team that issued the challenge loses, they may not issue another challenge for one week.

The 1st String

The 1st string consists of 20 members. The number of each player reflects their strength. No. 11-20 are only reserves who do not often get a chance to play in official matches. The players currently occupying the top ten spots are called the Genius 10. They are special even compared to the rest of the 1st string.

Rules of the 1st String:

• Even if a player loses in an unofficial match, they must forfeit their badge. (Note: The player's strength must be taken into account when issuing a challenge.)
• If a player loses a match during a team shuffle, they must forfeit their badge to the winning player regardless of the shuffle's overall results.

U-17 World Cup Participants

The team for the U-17 World Cup consists of 28 players in total - 14 high schoolers and 14 middle schoolers. Players are chosen based on their ability, mental strength and potential.